The Lies of Potter
by Evelyn Thorn
Summary: What if the real story had never started and the facts had been falsified?  What if everything we had known had been a lie?    Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.
1. Prologue: A New Beginning

Since the very beginning of time, jealousy took hold of everything around them, the pages of the books were lined in green and the star-struck children called out their names. The three most famous since the end of everything, or so they thought. Since the death of the most evil being in history the three had reigned supreme throughout the land. Not without dire consequences I might add, but known of which they really knew at the time.

Life as we know it is not cheery for anyone and it was no different for them either, except for the tiny detail of them being able to hide it from the rest of the world. The exuberant faces that passed by them never really knew the truth nor could they even imagine it - - right in front of the faces of the entire world lies spread out around as thick as fog.

As time went on everyone slowly returned to their daily lives, now seemingly without the threat of anything to fear. Little did they know what was waiting for them to turn their backs. One day soon they would see reality come and strike them down where they stood in their sweet and utter oblivion never suspecting a single thing.

This would now be the beginning of the end. The real story starter with all the rest a framed prolog. Where the three lives were revealed and the startling truth would come to light for the detriment of everyone concerned.

This is the story of Harry Potter's lie . . .


	2. A Hard Choice

The rain tapped lightly on the window in the early morning haze of London's wonderful winter. Staring blankly out into the nothingness of winding streets and brick houses sat Hermione Granger. Her hair was fanned out wildly about her face and her green nightgown was wrinkled from tossing and turning all nigh long. What was really disturbing was the blank look on her worn out face, her eyes held nothing in them, they were just empty pools, almost as if her soul has been taken from her.

It really wasn't her soul but her spirit that was missing. Stirring out of the bleakness of the day she turned slowly towards the bed just in time to hear Ron Weasley groan in his sleep.

_Yeah, _Hermione thought cynically to herself, _he can sleep the whole entire night through and I can't even close my eyes for a moment._ Hermione knew that even though Ron could sleep he was still plagued by the same nightmares that haunted her. The ones she had been living through since the say Voldemort had died.

It has been almost three years since that day. So much had changed, lives had changed and everyone thought it was for the better. All of the wizarding community was already making preparations for the anniversary celebration that would be taking place in three weeks. Everyone was so happy . . . everyone except the ones that truly knew.

Hermione once again turned back to the window and for the millionth time or more let her mind drift back to the days when she first came to Hogwarts and met Ron and Harry and everyone else that had become their allies throughout the years. Banding together to defeat the evil that threatened to destroy them all and everything they held dear. If only they had known.

She relived every event, every word, every look wondering again and again where she had missed the signs. She was supposed to be the smart one, the brains of the bunch, but he had fooled her in the end just like he had fooled everyone else and was still fooling the majority of the people around them.

Some, like Ron, knew and didn't care. They had not fully grasped the shire overwhelming and dire situation they were in. For Ron it was easy to remember the happy times and in his own delusions he was still living in those happy times. Instead of really having to face the truth, Ron was trying to justify the situation and not turn against his friends. Hermione on the other hand was at a point where she couldn't do that anymore, she was tired of pretending.

No, it was time to face reality for what it was and what it had become and it was not a very happy place to be.

As the sun peaked through the darkened sky, a little light began to spark in the depths of Hermione's eyes. This time she had made up her mind, she was done pretending and done living in fear every moment of her life. It was time to do something about it, time to reveal the truth to everyone.

Standing up quietly she looked over her shoulder at the still sleeping Ron, blissfully encased in a world better than this one. This was probably the last time she would see him, that is unless she would end up having to kill him. Hermione did not have any regrets about leaving him, at one time she had thought she had loved Ron but now she knew that had been a lie to. They had been together for the past three years but in all that time she had never really been happy.

They had moved from one place to another at Hermione's insistence. She had thought that maybe in the chaos of constantly being on the move they would loose some of the connections they had with their past . . . they had not. Ron, the ever dutiful friend, kept up with past acquaintances, always making sure they knew where to find them.

Hermione sighed one last time still looking at Ron. She slipped the straps of her nightgown down over her shoulders letting it fall silently to the floor. Daintily she stepped out of it leaving it on the ground for Ron to find later. _Let him think I am coming back._ Hastily she went to their small closet to grab the warmest clothes she could find. With that she packed up a small bag and stepped out into the frigid windy air for the terrifying adventure that lay before her.


	3. A Decision Kept

The lightening briefly illuminated the towering house situated on top of a small hill overlooking a deserted valley beneath. Draco Malfoy stood at the pane glass window with his hands clasped behind his back looking out at the downpour that made up London's days. Something has changed, there was a shift in the world that even Draco could feel. A decision had been made, a new path chosen.

The rest of the house was dark, the only occasional light was coming from the blasts of lightening of the oncoming storm. There was a deafening crack as Draco ever so slightly moved his wrist, wand in hand, as the fireplace sparked to life. The days were getting chillier, a sign of winter no far behind.

Draco frowned and lifted his head to the sky, closing his eyes and willing all of his energy to be focused. _What had changed?_ And more importantly was it going to help him or hinder him on his journey? Grunting at the effort, Draco shook his head in frustration, he couldn't get anything more specific than a general feeling.

For the last three years, Draco had been on the run from everyone around him and almost everyone he had known in the past. Draco, even before the great battle was won by the 'good side,' had been distrustful of the people who were around him. People ended up switching sides way too easily when they thought they could come out as the winners. Draco had to admit, for a while there he was just as confused himself. There was a small understanding in him that accepted the fact that people could change. He certainly had over these three short years.

Yes, in the great war people had died, lots of people, but it was a war and you could not be without casualties on both sides or it would not have been believable. The whole affair just seemed to be too easy.

A shiver went up Draco's spine a moment before there was a pounding on the door. For a brief moment Draco's eyes registered their surprise at the intrusion. There were only a select few wizards who could manage to pass the barrier Draco had constructed around the house, fewer yet who knew of the house's existence, those that were still alive that is, and even fewer still who could pass through without being detected.

Cautiously he moved from the room and along the dark hallway. The deco of the house was sorely outdated, however, Draco never had any inclination to change the place. It was one of the few things in this day and age that was left unchanged and in the guise of a better time. Stopping a few feet from the door, Draco slowly raised his wand over his head as the door pounded again. Taking a fighting stance, Draco whispered the words and the bolt clicked back unlocking the heavy door. After a few seconds the door was hesitantly pushed open.

To Draco's utmost surprise, Hermione Granger, one of the last people Draco thought he would ever see again, was standing on his doorstep. She was soaking wet from head to toe, she had not even bothered to use her magic to keep herself dry in this torrential storm, for that matter, she did not even have a wand in her hand.

Draco was immediately on guard and suspicious.

. . .

Hermione just stood on the doorstep staring at Draco. She saw the surprise and then the subtle shift to wary and uncertainty. She had come here knowing this wouldn't be easy but as of the moment she didn't know where else to go. She had come here with low expectations of what she would find and from what she could read on Draco's face, she should have lowered them further.


	4. A Risk Worth Taking

Draco sneered, wand still at the ready as Hermione took a step into the house, his house, dripping water on the carpet where she stood. Without meaning to or realizing it Draco reverted back to the ways of his past, "Why are you here Mud Blood?"

Hermione looked up at Draco disgusted. _Maybe this was a bad idea after all,_ she thought_._ Draco really had not changed much in the past three years since she had seen him, he still had his boyish looks about him. His eyes were a little more sunken in and he looked tired but other than that he was put together and still exuded that air of confidence she always thought was a little charming.

"If you persist on calling me that I really will have to get out my wand." Taking a quick glance around the small corridor, Hermione dropped her tiny bag next to a side table with forever fresh roses on it. As she straightened back up she swayed a little.

"I will ask you one more time," Draco paused, "Why are you here - - Granger?"

Hermione looked back at Draco over her shoulder, just like she had done two days before when she had left Ron. Draco was far different than Ron, he had made up his mind on which path he was going to take long before anyone knew they were going to have to decide. Draco also had stuck to his path and had not wavered like so many of the others had. _No,_ Hermione thought, _Draco is ready to fight for what he believes in. I have to believe I can put my trust in him._

The two day journey had made her weak, she had not stopped for food for fear of being recognized and followed. She couldn't even risk using her magic, the only time she had was to get through Draco's barrier. She was relieved she had finally made it, in the beginning she had not known if she would. Her giddiness caused her to get dizzy and she was already a little weak on her feet.

Hermione sneezed once and with a helpless glance at Draco, slowly felt her world turn cloudy.

**. . .**

Draco's fears and wariness faltered as he watched in amazement as Hermione passed out right in front of his eyes, sinking slowly toward the carpeted ground. He instinctively tried to reach out and grab her but his movements stopped as he realized what he was doing, this was one of his sworn enemies. She had come unarmed but as Draco had learned through the years Hermione was by no means dumb and she knew how to take care of herself.

He looked at her crumpled body and watched her labored breathing. _Well, she knew how to take care of herself more of the time. Why would she come seeking out the house of one of her enemies only to be too sick to barely even make it through the door?_ It just did not seem to make any sense. She was putting her life completely on the line, he could more than easily kill her right now.

Draco moved closer to Hermione so that he was standing directly above her. His arm outstretched with his wand firmly griped in his hand. And then he looked down at her face . . . her cheeks were flushed and there was a mixture of sweat combined with the rain from the storm raging outside.

In frustration Draco twisted his arm and zapped a candle stick holder at the far end of the hallway cutting the candles in half. Draco closed his eyes and took a long deep breath. Controlling his movements more smoothly this time he repaired the candles and made them spring to life. They floated over to Draco and Hermione, hovering just above their heads. Draco bent down and scooped Hermione up into his arms. She was lighter than he expected her to be. The side of her face came to rest against his shoulder and he could feel how hot she was through his light t-shirt. All at once Draco felt new emotions stirring within him, panic and worry for her safety, something he had never felt for a female before.

Draco quickly strode into the room he had previously vacated and gently laid Hermione down on a couch with a pillow under her head. He waved his wand and suddenly she was completely dry. He conjured up a blanket and a cold compress for her forehead.

He shook his head again and looked down at her unconscious body. _What the hell was he doing?_


	5. Living a Dream

Hermione woke up to a strange feeling. There was a nice, soothing cold compress on her forehead and a warm blanket wrapped around her. She turned her head slowly so she could see the room about her. What immediately stuck her was the form of Draco Malfoy squatting down in front of the fireplace stirring something before it using his wand. The light from the fire played off the cheek bones of his face nicely, making him not look so tired and worn down. Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight until she moved her foot causing the couch to squeak and ruin the scene.

Draco turned on his heels as fast as lightening, wand at the ready and the serene calm gone from his face. His muscles relaxed as he saw that Hermione was awake, "What the hell do you think you are doing? Do you know I could just have easily killed you when you were passed out?"

Hermione blinked once and swallowed hard, her mouth was dry, "But you didn't kill me. You put a cold compress on my head, and a blanket around me, and . . ." Hermione froze in place, her eyes opening wide. "What am I wearing?" the pitch of her voice was practically a shriek.

"Your wearing one of my shirts."

"Yes," Hermione lifted up the blankets, "I can see that! Why am I wearing one of your shirts?" This time her voice did squeak.

With an exasperated look Draco raked his hand through his hair. "You couldn't keep what you were wearing on, it was soaking wet. Plus you were running a fever so you needed something lighter to wear since you were sweating so much." Draco glared at her once again, not waiting for a response he turned back to the pot over the fire.

Behind his back Hermione smiled, she knew she could trust him. It would have been the perfect moment to kill her and yet he had resisted. Curiosity as to why gnawed in the back of her mind but she shook it off, she had come here for a reason, so she had better get on with explaining it.

Draco turned back around, this time holding two steaming bowls of soup. He placed them on the table and without even glancing over to where Hermione sat he began eating. Hermione slowly threw her legs over the side of the couch, wrapped the blanket securely about her, and got up taking the chair across from him.

"Thank you," she murmured, grabbing the spoon next to the bowl and taking a tentative sip of the hot liquid. The flavors were amazing and the broth was filling. Before she realized it Hermione had finished the bowl that was before her. She looked up slightly embarrassed and found Draco watching her curiously. He had not even finished half of his meal but got up without speaking and refilled her bowl. This time Hermione ate the splendid meal a little more slowly, savoring the flavors.

Hermione felt self conscious throughout the entire meal. It was some irony that she was sitting here now enjoying an almost comfortable meal with Draco Malfoy. They had been known enemies for close to ten years now.

"Are you finally done?" Draco had his arms folded over his chest and was leaning back in his chair with a glare plastered on his face. He had been patient this whole entire time letting her indulge herself on the meal he had made and now he had waited long enough.

Hermione put the spoon down in her empty bowl and folded her hands on top of the table. She was nervous. _Will he believe me?_ She couldn't hide the faint worry in her eyes.

**. . .**

Draco mistook the meaning and narrowed his eyes at her across the table, he was on the defensive. _It would have been so much easier just to have killed her and gotten it over with, then there would have been one less person I would have had to worry about ruining my plans._

Draco's eyes narrowed even further when he realized that he didn't want to see her dead. Even though they had been on opposing sides ever since they had first met and he had repeatedly told himself she was his enemy. Even going to far as to try and distance himself by being mean to her, there was always something that drew him back to her.

"I'll ask you for the last time Granger," he almost spat out the words with his pent up and confusing emotions coming to light before him, "Why are you here?"

Hermione took a long steadying breath looking at the table. She wasn't one to be scared but at the moment she was scared that he really wouldn't believe her, _then what would she do?_

Her gaze slowly raised to his and there was no hesitation in her eyes. "I need your help." Her voice was full of conviction. "I want you to help me kill Harry Potter."


	6. Choices Made

Stunned, Draco almost fell over in the chair he had been leaning back on. Those were the last words he expected one of the magic three to even utter. Through all of these years Granger had been right there beside Potter for everything. Draco had even thought at one time that she loved Potter, and then she ended up going for the utterly weak Weasley. He had always thought it had bee to balance Weasley out and make it seem like he was important in the group, Potter must have needed him for something anyway. Hermione had always had the magical skill behind her, easily able to do almost anything, maybe even find a way to kill Potter.

Neither one of them said anything for a very long time. They just sat there staring at one another, Draco with misbelieve and mistrust crossing his face and Hermione with the steadfast conviction she had had when she had first spoken the words.

At last Draco was the one to manage to speak first, "Do you think I am a fool? Did you really think you could come waltzing up to my house and think that I would just take you on your word after everything that we have been through." He stood up and started pacing around the room before the fireplace. "Dammit, it has been ten years! Ten years of us being enemies, of being on the opposite side of this issue and now you say you just want to switch and everything will be fine? Are you out of your mind?"

Hermione had been watching him as he paced about the room. She had known he would never believe her but she had still come with a small amount of hope that she would be wrong. It wouldn't be easy to convince him, though that wasn't saying much, their whole lives hadn't been easy for a very long time.

"All I can say is that it is true," Hermione's eyes pleaded with Draco for him to believe her but he was having none of it. "I didn't know what was happening for a long time, when I finally figured out the truth I took the easy way out just keeping it to myself and going about my life like nothing was wrong. For a while it worked, I convinced myself that everything was fine and I believed it, then the pain kept wearing on me and I couldn't just sit by and pretend anymore. I don't want to have to pretend anymore!"

"You've lived with knowing this long and are only now realizing that you were wrong?" Draco practically yelled and Hermione shrank back under the heavy weight of the guilt she felt. It had been a long time since she learned what was truly going on in the world around them. When she finally knew she gave up hope of trying to fix it, she had lost her spirit and in turn her life had been nothing more than fiction for the past couple of years. She was disgusted with herself; Draco must even be more so. She was surprised Draco had not just killed her on the spot. She more than deserved it.

"I'm not going to try and make any excuses for myself. I know what I have done is wrong and that is why I am here to try and help change it."

"Oh and just how do you propose to do that? How are you, Granger, going to make the world a happy and sunny place again?" Draco rolled his eyes in contempt as he looked at her.

Hermione was unsure for the first time. Looking down at her clenched hands resting on the table, "I – I don't know, that's why I came here. I need your help."

"You think I am going to be able to help you? Look around you; does it really look like I am in a position to help you? I haven't been able to do a damn thing in ten years!" Draco turned his back on her frustrated and slammed the palm of his hand against the stone fireplace staring into the changing light.

Hermione just stared at his back helpless. What had she expected, an answer to magically come to her once she arrived on the doorstep? She sighed in frustration as well. That really was what she had expected. The hard part was supposed to have been convincing Draco of her changing loyalties. She had not given must thought to the rest.

**. . .**

_What does she expect from me?_ Draco thought as he stared into the flames. He did not have an answer for what they should do. If he did then he sure as hell would not have been stuck here in this house for the past three years trying to figure it out.

He looked at Hermione over his shoulder, she had her head down staring at her hands, confused and defeated. _Should he trust her?_

Draco shook his head slightly almost laughing to himself. What else could he do? He had gone over and over again through every angle and every plan had failed. Maybe this is what would finally work. He really did not have anything to loose, he had exhausted all of the options he had left. Hermione presented a new light, a new hope for something to change. Draco liked the thought of change; it was exactly what he needed in his life.

He moved back over to the table and sat down looking at Hermione. She slowly lifted her head looking directly into his eyes still pleading with him to believe her. "Well Granger, if we are going to try this thing then we better start knocking around some ideas."

It was Hermione's turn to almost fall of her chair.


	7. The Time

Hermione was irritated. She sat listening to Draco pace back and forth in front of the fireplace behind her and she stared out into the morning sunlight. It had been this way for the past three days. Neither of them had gotten anywhere nor did there seem like there was still any trust among them. It had been an almost overwhelming idea to Hermione that Draco could just accept her words so easily. She wanted to believe him but with everything she had been through trusting people was not her strong suit.

She glanced back over her shoulder at the hunched shoulders and brooding face he portrayed. He was scared; she knew that just by looking at him. He certainly had a right to be though; he had been fighting for his life for the past ten years when everyone really thought he had been fighting for it before.

As if sensing her gaze his eyes turned to meet hers. She was startled for a second but that quickly past as heat filled her cheeks and she glanced away nervously. He came towards her slowly, pulled out the chair next to her and elegantly sat down.

Placing both hands folded in front of him on the table he kept staring at her face. "I think it's about time we each tell the other one what we know. We haven't gotten anywhere as it is and we don't seem to be getting any younger."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut tight. He was right; they each needed to be able to trust each other and he deserved to know . . . oh what would he do when he found out?

"I guess I should be the one to go first," opening her eyes she looked right into his.

"It took a long time for me to figure this all out but it started even before we arrived at the school . . ."


End file.
